291 pages, published 2004, ACE Fantasy/Mystery
Vampire fiction… not my usual genre, but the pandemic is a great excuse for reading absolutely ANYTHING! As vampire fiction goes, this book is old. No cell phones!
I was pleasantly surprised by how well this book held my attention. It’s highly inventive. Sookie is a young woman “gifted” with telepathy. She can read minds, a mixed blessing which makes her a misfit.
Background… The invention of synthetic blood allowed Vampires to“come out” as part of the human race, because they can thrive without killing, at least most of the time. Other supernatural creatures, like werewolves, shapeshifters and even fairies (!) are beginning to mix openly with the general human population. The action takes place in rural Louisiana.
Sookie’s only living relative is her reckless, charming brother. He disappears, and Sookie’s efforts to find him are complicated by a power struggle between witches and werewolves. With one chapter remaining, I couldn’t imagine how the book would end.
I liked “Dead to the World” so much I may dig up the earlier novels in the series, all of which have “dead” in the title.
AMG Reading Journal 